To The Bone
by an-alternate-world
Summary: It's been a very long day and Chris just wants to relax, but then Darren invites himself over and things get a little...out of hand. How do they handle it the day after? Smut, angst, fluff two-shot! RPF.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** To The Bone  
><strong>Author:<strong> an-alternate-world  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M+  
><strong>CharactersPairings:** Chris/Darren  
><strong>Word count:<strong> 5,266  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been a very long day and Chris just wants to relax, but then Darren invites himself over and things get a little...out of hand. RPF.  
><strong>WarningsSpoilers:** Smut away!  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I am in no way associated with _Glee, FOX_, Ryan Murphy or anything else related to the _Glee _universe. Nor do I know Chris or Darren and so I hope to God they never see this...

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><p>He was so tired. So unbelievably tired. Everything <em>hurt<em>. This is what you get when you do a movie in your downtime and forget your other full-time job: being a Glee regular who does an absurd amount of dancing and who needs to be stupidly flexible.

_Ow._

He climbed into the driver's seat and rolled his neck around, trying to loosen some of the strained muscles. A hot bath, easy food, an early night.

A knock on his window and he realised those plans were shot. He pressed on the button and the window slid down.

"_What_, Dare?" he groaned, rubbing his shoulder.

Darren winced. "Um, just…wanted to ask if you wanted a hand tonight. Zach worked you pretty hard and I thought I could come over and…I don't know…cook or something."

"Darren, you burn water."

"Hey!" he pouted. "I totally don't. I mean, toast, sure. But water? Come on, man. The water is safe."

Chris rolled his eyes. "You haven't been to my new place, have you?"

Darren shook his head.

"Fine. You take your car and follow behind me. If we get separated in traffic, that's your problem."

Grinning, Darren bounced across the carpark and jumped into his car. Honestly, Chris wondered where he got the energy from. Six hours of stretching and jamming and learning ridiculous choreography and he was totally wrecked. And Darren looked like he'd just woken up. He needed to check Darren's coffee. And maybe any sign of some wonder-drug that kept his co-worker so hyped up. It couldn't be normal.

When Darren flashed his lights, Chris started up the car and pulled out of the lot. Chris soon forgot he was being tailed by Darren and settled into the routine of driving through the streets of L.A. towards his new house. It was a million times better than his apartment, although he still felt the exterior was rather…dingy. He wasn't happy with the blue but he just hadn't had the time to do much about it. Even his furniture was barely arranged and there were still boxes scattered around and he'd been there nearly two weeks now. _If only I could get a day off_, he mused, merging lanes and beginning the ascent.

It was a winding journey but he could see the bustle of L.A. falling behind him as he climbed into the hills. Something about being above all the chaos soothed him and being in a neighbourhood that wasn't filled with celebrities meant that he wasn't stalked _too _badly. Although the paparazzi did sometimes lurk if there was a particularly interesting story that had broken overnight about him, like Glee starting up rehearsals again last week or this weird stand-off he was having with Ryan about season four and the way the tabloids had taken their words and now it was just this big mess so Chris hovered around the new writers and Brad and Ian instead.

_Home_, his mind squealed and he turned into the driveway and…oh yeah, Darren. He pressed the garage opener and parked his car inside as Darren pulled up behind him and got out.

"The blue?" Darren said, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, yeah. You and Ashley and me. I'll get to it one of these days," he huffed, pulling his Chewbacca bag from the backseat and locking the car. Darren stood with his hands on his hips and gazed at the front of the house. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, sorry. I got distracted. You know, a cream or off-white would work well," Darren mused, following Chris into the house.

"Careful Dare, your gay is showing," Chris teased and Darren shoved him. Chris dropped the bag and took off his jacket. "Living room, kitchen, bathroom is over that way," Chris pointed in each direction, "couple of bedrooms upstairs and another bathroom."

"I like the floorboards," Darren commented.

"_Seriously_? Who _are _you right now?" Chris said, heading towards the kitchen and grabbing a Diet Coke from the fridge.

Darren shrugged and sat on a bar stool by the counter. "Darren Criss. Same oddball I've always been. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"No reason," Chris asked. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Water's fine," Darren said, glancing around.

"Burnt or unburnt?" Chris joked.

"Oh, ha ha. Are you still going with that one?"

"Apparently," Chris replied, pulling down a glass and filling it with water. He placed it in front of Darren and returned to sipping his Diet Coke.

"Don't you ever get sick of that?" Darren remarked.

Chris shrugged. "Sometimes. I'll sneak the odd Red Bull but it tends to leave me buzzing a bit too much."

"Ahh yes, Red Bull," Darren tilted his head. "Dangerous stuff that. Got me through _A Very Potter Sequel_ but Joey was pretty peeved with how wired I was all the time."

"Yeah, Ashley banned me from it after the tour was over and I had one less thing to worry about."

They lulled into a silence while Chris puttered around, pulling ingredients from the fridge and pantry. Darren placed his head on the cool bench top and felt his back twinge in protest. He hadn't been worked as hard as Chris today but he was still sore.

"What happened to helping me?" Chris asked, tossing a cube of cheese at Darren's head. It bounced off his hair and fell to the floor with a soft_ thwack_.

"Tired. Sore," he groaned from where his head was resting on his arms.

"Don't you dare whinge. I can barely move and Zach worked me over way harder," Chris said, starting to chop up the chicken.

"_Fine_," Darren whined. "Give me something to do."

They worked quietly as Chris put together the food for chicken alfredo. It tended to be his go-to meal after a long day rehearsing and he knew there was nothing in it Darren didn't eat. Stupid picky eater.

He served up a dish for Darren and himself and turned the heat off, placing the pan on a separate cooktop so it didn't burn the bottom, grabbed a fresh Diet Coke and sank onto the sofa in the living room with a quiet whimper. _God, he hurt._ Darren sat next to him and they chatted about up-coming scenes and storylines and what they wanted to see from the next season. When Chris finished, he put his plate on the floor and stretched, feeling the joints in his back pop as he groaned with relief.

Darren swallowed and gathered up Chris' plate to dump in the kitchen sink and returned to the sofa where Chris was flopped out with his eyes closed.

"Can I…um…do you…want a massage or something?" Darren asked.

"Do you know how?" Chris said, opening an eye to stare at him.

"_Please_," Darren scoffed, sitting on the edge of the sofa and running his hands along Chris' back and spine, kneading and rubbing. Chris moaned softly beneath him and Darren bit his lip, shifting slightly. He found the right places and…_crack_.

"Ow?" Chris mumbled. "Actually…damn. That feels so much better. What did you do?"

"I'm a musician," Darren shrugged. "You learn shit when you switch between holding a guitar or hunched over a piano or holding up the violin or whatever."

"Oh yeah. Forgot you were the musical genius."

"I have to be able to do _something _better than you," Darren reasoned. "I mean, you have singing and dancing and acting and writing a-"

"Our styles are different," Chris sniffed, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. "Neither of us are better or worse than the other. We're just different."

"Fine. We're '_different_'," Darren repeated with little air-quotes which made Chris roll his eyes. "Oh and um…you have a…spot of sauce…" he reached out and wiped it from the corner of Chris' mouth and Chris flushed. "Sorry," he muttered.

"No, I…better than not knowing and looking like an idiot, right?" Chris said, smiling. _I need an off-switch for this damned blushing!_ "Ashley tells me about how her mascara might run and how awkward it is when no one says anything and she gets home and she's got this streaky line down her face,"

"Except you're already home," Darren pointed out.

"Totally besides the point."

"Sure, sure," Darren mused. "So um…I see you haven't really unpacked."

"Haven't had the time," Chris grimaced. "_Lightning _wrapped and then Glee started up again and I get home and I'm so wrecked."

"I remember the insanity of Glee when I first started. I thought what the net said about long days was just a joke. My first week…ugh," Darren recalled.

"How are you feeling now anyway? I mean, I can't do that thing to your back but I could rub out a kink if you have one."

Darren's mouth was suddenly much dryer.

"That totally didn't come out right," Chris said, covering his face with his hands.

Darren snorted and tugged at Chris' hands. "It's okay. I think."

"You think?" Chris raised an eyebrow in a very good impersonation of Kurt.

"I…well…yes," Darren stuttered. _Shit shit shit. Keep it together, Criss._

"Dare?"

"Chris?"

"What's your…" Chris darted his eyes across the room, "_opinion _of me?"

"What?"

"You understand words."

"I…" Darren floundered. This was awkward. Had it suddenly gotten hotter in here or…? "You're a very talented guy."

"Is that all?" Chris looked…disappointed?

"I don't know what you want me to say," Darren admitted nervously.

"I'll go first then," Chris swallowed, glancing at his hands which were still being held by Darren. "I think you're amazing. I'm stupidly jealous of your talent and you fit in so well and make so many easy friends and you're just so…comfortable, all the damn time and I feel like…like a flailing penguin. And I'm in awe of you. I feel like some weird fan but…I am."

Darren was touched and humbled and…now he felt even more uncomfortable. "You shouldn't be jealous of me. Sometimes I think of how they describe Blaine, that he's friendly and outgoing and everyone's friend and that's kind of how they described me at Michigan but I'm not sure who I am a lot of the time," he looked away. "I mean, I know I'm a singer and an actor but who am I _really_? This comfortable-in-my-own-skin thing is just a joke. I've gone from this boy that used to play in my bedroom to no one on YouTube to the boyfriend of this gay icon on TV and I don't know how to handle it."

"You're doing pretty well," Chris hushed him. "When I signed up, we never expected to get past the pilot. At least you sort of knew what you were signing in for."

"But never to become a series regular!" Darren protested. "I was signed on for a few eps and _Teenage Dream _fucking _exploded_."

"True," Chris conceded.

"And suddenly everyone knows my name and I'm having concerts and people are chasing after me and I feel like I'm just losing myself in the _madness_."

Chris twisted his hands and gripped Darren's. "You're still that same person, somewhere. I saw you jumping down the red carpet at the _Harry Potter _premiere. You still forget the lyrics and sweat so much that I think it's insane you don't pass out from dehydration. You went to LeakyCon and made me jealous because I missed out on all the Harry Potter flailing and keep in touch with your StarKids. You're still Darren Criss, oddball and goober extraordinaire."

Darren choked back a tearful chuckle and Chris pulled him in for a hug. "You haven't lost yourself in the madness, Dare. Never think that."

Chris could feel Darren shaking and he hugged him tighter, rubbing a hand across Darren's back. He could feel Darren's tears dampening his neck and he ached for the older boy who had dreamed of big things but never believed it would actually happen. He remembered when his mother used to kiss Hannah's hair after a particularly bad seizure and how it would calm her down, so without thinking much about it, he pressed his lips to a curl near Darren's ear. Darren stilled for a moment before pulling back.

"Chris?" he questioned, eyes wide and red and eyelashes wet.

"Sorry, it just…it used to calm Hannah down and I…don't know what I was thinking…" Chris stammered, letting go and putting some distance between the two.

Darren watched him carefully. "I never said what I thought about you."

"It's okay," Chris waved it away, heading towards the kitchen.

Darren jumped up and followed him, wrapping his arms around Chris from behind and pressing his face against Chris' firm shoulder blades. "I think about you kind of constantly and obsessively. I focus so hard on being right all the time in my steps or words that sometimes I forget them. When you look at me, I can't breathe. When I kiss you as Kurt, I think about how much I want to kiss you as Chris. On days that I feel like I'm drowning, your touch brings me back to the surface."

"Dare-"

"Hush," Darren commanded. "I don't know what it means. I don't want to think about it too much. It just _is_. It's the way I feel. I have nightmares about you getting hurt and sometimes I can't get back to sleep because I'm so frightened it was real. And on those days, I arrive stupidly early and hang around until I see your car pull in just so I know you're alive and okay but I know I can't rush over to you because that's just _weird_."

"Do you love me?" Chris broke in softly.

"I-" he paused. Did he? "I don't know. But I like you. More than I should. I hate being apart from you. I get so anxious if I don't know you're okay."

Chris shimmied around in his arms and he suddenly felt incredibly exposed and thought it was best to leave. But Chris' cool hand on his wrist stopped him.

"I told you when I met you that I knew who you were, and you didn't believe me. I don't think I'd really _seen _you until you had your haircut to be Blaine. Then I could see your eyes and…I don't think I've ever seen eyes quite like yours. And then we had to kiss as Kurt and Blaine and Ryan made us practice so much and I thought I was going to throw up because I was so nervous and then you stayed in London while I came back here and I was thinking about you all the time and I _knew _it wasn't normal and Ashley just keeps listening to me rant about you but I think she probably knows and I- mmph."

He flailed for a moment, Darren's warm, slightly rough lips pressed tightly against his own. And then he realised it wasn't quite the same as Blaine but it was close and it felt _right _somehow and he was trying not to overthink it and he could feel Darren's warm, smooth tongue pressing at his lips and he opened his mouth and tangled his tongue together with the older boy as Darren pressed his hands to Chris' hips possessively and pulled him closer as Chris wrapped his arms around Darren's neck and buried a hand among his crazy curls.

And then Darren stopped to breathe.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"What on earth for?"

"I didn't…I _don't _know if you feel the same," Darren amended.

"If I didn't, do you really think I wouldn't have kicked you away by now?" Chris asked.

"Right. Right," Darren nodded. "So this is okay?"

Chris didn't respond, instead pulling Darren close again and thrusting his tongue inside the smaller boy's mouth. He felt Darren shudder and press him harder against the sink and it kind of hurt a bit_ but holy fuck he was kissing Darren. _And then he felt himself hardening and quickly pulled away before it could get horribly embarrassing.

He stood on the other side of the kitchen bench, panting and getting his breath back.

"I thought you said it was okay?" Darren said, sounding horribly hurt and confused.

"I don't…I've never…" Chris stuttered, the part of him that decides to flush at inopportune moments becoming active again.

"You've never what?" Darren asked, watching Chris' tense posture.

"I've never had _sex_, okay?" he snapped. "I'm still a virgin because no one wanted to touch the gay kid in Clovis and I never have the time here to get out and so I'm just having a moment of mortification right now."

"Oh," Darren glanced down at his own half-hardness. "Why are you mortified?"

"I don't know!" Chris exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and whirling around to face Darren. "Maybe it's because you have way more experience than me or maybe it's because part of me feels this is either all wrong, a dream, or going to totally fuck up Glee because show romances are always to be avoided and I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

Darren took a step towards Chris. "I don't have _that _much more experience."

"You've had girlfriends, Darren."

"Yes, but I've never…never been with a _guy _before," he said. "I mean, kissed when we were drunk and playing spin-the-bottle or whatever but…it never got any further than that."

"You're not bothered by it?" Chris bit his lip.

"What? That you haven't?" Darren stared. "God no, Chris." He rounded the benchtop and pressed his hands against Chris' hips again. "Why should it?"

Chris shrugged half-heartedly, not really having a response, just expecting that it _would_ be an issue.

Darren kissed beneath his earlobe softly. "Let me teach you," he breathed warmly into the shell of Chris' ears.

"W-what?"

"Let me teach you. Let me ease your fears and then you won't have this hang-up about still being a virgin," Darren said, licking at Chris' ear.

"_O-oh_," he whimpered. "I…you'd do that?"

Darren nibbled his way along Chris' jaw. "It would be my pleasure to fuck you."

Chris smacked his shoulder before gripping at Darren's biceps. "You don't h-have to."

"Chris, honestly, shut up," Darren said, sealing his lips in another searing kiss. He pulled their hips together and pressed his thumbs into Chris' pelvic bone.

"Should we…bedroom?" Chris gasped as he tilted his neck for Darren to nip at it lightly with his teeth.

"_Please_," Darren murmured and Chris took off at a quick walk up the stairs as Darren followed close behind. Chris pushed open the door of his bedroom and groped for Darren who was already tangling them together and pushing Chris onto the bed. He looked down at the younger boy. "You're absolutely sure about this?"

Chris nodded, looking at least a little apprehensive but when he licked his lips, Darren groaned and nudged him up the bed while pulling off Chris' t-shirt. Biggest difference between Kurt and Chris: Chris had easier clothing. He stroked his hands over Chris' pale, toned chest which quivered beneath his hands.

"Why do you keep such perfection hidden?" Darren asked.

"Perfection?" Chris repeated. "Pasty is perfection now?"

"Clearly," Darren said, licking a path down Chris' throat and across his chest. He felt the breath catch in Chris' lungs as he blew warm air over one of his nipples and tugged his own shirt off in one fluid motion.

"See? Experience. I could never pull off my shirt so neatly," Chris teased softly.

Darren kissed down one of Chris' arms and sucked a finger into his mouth gently, swirling across the tip of it and tasting remnants from their earlier dinner. "The ability to pull my shirt off quickly comes with the concerts and needing to change shirts between songs, not because I've had so much sex."

Chris' whole body went pink, which Darren thought was rather cute. "Seriously? You blush at the mere mention of sex?"

"More like you getting sweaty," Chris mumbled shyly.

"That's a turn on?" Darren asked, fumbling with the zipper of his pants because his erection was getting far too uncomfortable. Chris only nodded. "Well, um, sex gets me pretty sweaty so…I hope you're satisfied at the end of it." Chris giggled a little hysterically until Darren kicked off his pants and pressed his chest against Chris' and kissed him deeply again. He felt Chris' hands slide across his back and over the bumps in his spine and across the curves in his lower back and he shivered.

"Can you…" Chris motioned at his pants, which are looking rather restricting. Darren carefully unbuttoned the jeans and slides them over Chris' legs, revelling in the expanse of more perfect, pale, toned flesh.

"_Fuck _you're gorgeous," he whispered, his breath ghosting over Chris' lips who has slightly dazed eyes. He can feel Chris beneath him, heat and a little sweaty and so smooth and he can't believe he's going to be the _first_. Chris trailed his fingers over Darren's tan skin and hairy chest, dipping into his navel and across the elastic of his briefs. It's making Darren dizzy with need and he's not sure how much longer he can stand it. "Do you have…?" He's a bit embarrassed by that question, he'll admit.

"Drawer," Chris motioned and Darren's reaching out blindly, finding the plastic bottle and small foil packages and biting at Chris' jaw.

"I thought you hadn't?" he muttered in between nibbles.

"Never hurts to be prepared," the younger boy replied, darting his fingers beneath the elastic of Darren's briefs and over the curve of his ass and _oh_, that's kind of nice, Darren decides. "You're totally sure?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Darren said, pausing to look Chris directly in the eyes.

"I'm not some sappy romantic girl. I trust you," Chris said. And Darren finds himself growling at how open and honest Chris is being as he pulls off their underwear and the first time their erections bump there's a soft groan from Chris as he shudders. Darren opens the bottle and spreads the lube across one of his fingers.

"I've heard this will hurt," he says apologetically.

"Only for a little while," Chris replies and with rather a building sense of nerves, Darren finds himself running the slicked finger over Chris' hole. "_Please_," Chris gasps and Darren finally pushes in, slowly, slowly, slowly, as Chris' face screws up and Darren wonders if maybe they shouldn't be doing this. But then he feels the relax as Chris moves around a little and when Chris nods, he moves the finger, slowly getting used to the difference between Chris' body and his previous girlfriends. It's warmer, and tighter, and he's a little terrified he might not make it very far with just the very thought of how tight it's going to be. "Dare…" Chris mumbles and Darren takes that as his cue to add another finger. He tips a bit more lube out and then pushes inside again.

He feels Chris tense with the intrusion and he stills, waiting until Chris adjusts and nods for him to continue. And when it happens, he starts to scissor his fingers to open Chris up further and Chris moans shakily and motions that he's ready for another finger, so Darren pushes in a third and _fuck _it's tight and he's wondering if he's even going to fit in there but he remembered having that fear with his first girlfriend and it all worked out so he just needs to stop worrying. It takes Chris longer to relax this time, so Darren gently wraps his hand around the swollen cock in front of him and Chris actually _mewls_.

"Don't…" he pants. "Won't last…"

"Sorry," Darren apologises unnecessarily, grabbing the condom packet and sliding it onto his own cock which is _so _grateful for a little bit of attention as he smothers it in lube. He crawls back up Chris' body. "Last chance?" he offers.

Chris shakes his head, grabbing onto Darren's arms and staring him in the eyes as he nods. It's all the affirmation Darren needs as he ever-so-gently pushes inside. He stills frequently, as soon as Chris' breath catches and he feels him tense. He's used to this, he remembers this. A first-timer's pain and fears and nerves making it more painful than it needed to be. But he doesn't mind, because Chris feels fucking _amazing _and he still doesn't know what this all means but he doesn't care anymore and then he realises he's pressed all the way in and kisses one of Chris' pink cheeks. Chris breathes slowly and deeply and Darren can feel the muscles around his cock contracting and relaxing and he waits. He can also feel Chris' short nails digging into his skin and it's a little painful but he knows he shouldn't complain about pain right now.

And then Chris gives a nervous nod and Darren can breathe again as he slides out before pushing back in again. He feels Chris shake and the grip on his arms alternates between loosening and tightening. He goes slowly, gently, opening Chris up as carefully as he can because he _knows _it's got to hurt but Chris is watching him and _fuck if that's not the hottest thing he's seen_ with Chris' pale eyes looking so dark with desire. He buries himself in Chris and pauses for a moment, because he needs to collect his thoughts.

"You can…faster…" Chris whispers brokenly. Darren captures his lips and forgets about collecting his thoughts, setting a faster pace as Chris sucks at his tongue which makes Darren slam into him hard and Chris jerks. "_Ohh_," he cries.

"Did I hurt you?" Darren panics, stopping.

"No, no, _fuck _no," Chris assures. "No, again. Right there. Hard. _Please_."

So Darren resumes his thrusting, slightly harder and hitting Chris _just right _and he watches as sweat disappears into Chris' hair and he knows he's drenched because he's a bit slippery against Chris' chest and then Chris is wrapping his legs around Darren and scraping his blunt nails down his back and he stops thinking and moves harder and faster and he can hear the obscene noises escaping Chris' throat and he knows he can't control his own vocal cords right now and they stop kissing so they can pant as Darren feels the coiling in his stomach that feels like a burning hot spring and it's getting tighter and tighter and tighter.

"_C-close_," he grunts, grabbing for Chris' cock and stroking it hurriedly. And then Chris starts to cry out and claw at Darren and he clamps down hard on Darren's cock before spilling over Darren's hand and his belly and the look on his face and the tightness around Darren sends him over the edge and he sees stars for a few moments as he slows his thrusting to let his orgasm wash through him. When he has his breath back sufficiently, he pulls out of Chris and removes the sticky condom and ties the end because really, condoms are just _gross _sometimes and Chris has whimpered softly at the loss but can't really move because he's just been fucked dry and now he can see, _now he can see_, why people have sex. And he wonders if everyone can make his blood pound like that or if it's only Darren and his heart is racing and he's still trembling all over. He feels Darren move off the bed and must make a noise of protest because Darren hushes him with a soft "I'll be _right _back" and then he's back and there's something warm and damp on his tummy and _oh, Darren's cleaning him_. And then Darren is pressed against his side, an arm across his chest and a leg thrown casually over him and he's burying his nose in Darren's hair and smelling his cologne that's mingled with sweat and something which he assumes is that 'sex' smell he always reads about and whatever else that's just so _Darren_.

And they lay there, listening to the far-off sounds of L.A. and animals of the night moving around and getting their breath back and their heartbeats slowed.

"Is it…is it always like that?" Chris asks, returning to the shy boy of before.

"No," Darren says honestly. "That was fucking…I…never like that. Never that good."

He feels Chris' hand stroking the back of his neck and a part of him wants to purr because it feels so comforting and he loves post-sex cuddling more than anything else sometimes and Chris is just such a wonderful cuddler.

And then he feels Chris' tongue, warm and wet, licking a spot on his forehead. And he squeaks. Like the manly man that he is.

"Sorry," Chris mumbles. "Just wanted to taste you."

"You tasted _sweat_!"

Chris shrugs. "Wasn't so bad."

"You're weird, Colfer."

"Says the oddball, Criss."

"You love me anyway."

They both freeze.

"I didn't m-"

"Do you?" Chris interrupts.

"Do I what? Love you?" Darren's nervous, his throat is dry, he needs water. It's not because he's just sweated all over Chris while having sex. This is nerves. Him and his fucking mouth. Chris nods, not looking at him. "I don't know. I've certainly never had sex with a man before," he concedes. "Maybe I do. I just haven't quite figured it out yet. Like Blaine."

Chris makes trails with his fingertips through the sweat on the side of Darren's neck. "What does this mean?"

"It can…" Darren swallows. "It can mean whatever you want it to mean. Nothing or…or everything."

"I think…for now…let's just…see what happens?" Chris says quietly. "I'm scared. I don't want to lose our friendship."

"You sound like Kurt," Darren jokes.

"Maybe I understand now how he felt with Blaine," Chris replies.

Darren kisses him gently. "We'll always have each other. One way or another. I can't ditch you now like I can't ditch my StarKids. I…I need you, Chris. Somehow. Someway. So we'll see what happens and…go from there, okay?"

Chris nods and snuggles close to Darren again, his nerves being replaced by exhaustion. He knows he should clean up more but he had such a long day with Zach and then he just had sex, _Chris Colfer had sex!_, and now he just wants to sleep. And he's soothed by Darren's breathing and the soft _thump _of his head and is asleep quickly. Darren checks to make sure an alarm is set and for the first time in a while, falls into a peaceful sleep pretty quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** To The Bone  
><strong>Author:<strong> an-alternate-world  
><strong>Rating:<strong> Overall: M+, this chapter: K  
><strong>CharactersPairings:** Chris/Darren  
><strong>Word count:<strong> 5,250  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been a very long day and Chris just wants to relax, but then Darren invites himself over and things get a little...out of hand. RPF.  
><strong>WarningsSpoilers: ANGST** followed by _fluff_. You were warned.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I am in no way associated with _Glee, FOX_, Ryan Murphy or anything else related to the _Glee _universe. Nor do I know Chris or Darren and so I hope to God they never see this...

* * *

><p>If Chris thought he hurt the day before, he was sorely mistaken.<p>

_Oh ha ha, that was a good one Colfer_, his mind throws at him and he muffles a groan as Darren reaches blindly for his phone to shut off the alarm. And then last night comes flooding back to him and he's shoving himself away, pulling a sheet with him because he's aware that he slept very much naked last night pressed against his fucking _co-star _and his muscles scream in protest and Darren blinks blearily at him.

"Uh, good morning?" he says, scrubbing a hand across his eyes, and Chris remembers that scene of Blaine being walked in on by Burt after Rachel's party. The similarity is uncanny. He starts to wonder if Darren actually fell asleep on-set briefly. Darren tugs the edge of the blanket over to cover his exposed self. "So are you as awkward as I am now or?"

"Very much so," Chris replies, tucking the sheet around him tightly.

"Oh good," Darren nods, his fingers running through his hair. "So…what do we do now?"

"I'm going to shower," Chris announces, inching towards the closet to grab some clothes. "And you're…I don't even know. You're going to do something while I'm in there."

"_Something_?" Darren raises an eyebrow.

"Not _that_," Chris mutters, pulling out some comfortable clothes. He'll have to change when he gets on-set anyway.

"I could shower with you," Darren suggests cheekily.

Chris drops his clothes.

"I…uh…you…" he swallows. His mouth is very, very dry. "_No_," he hisses.

"_Kidding_!" Darren grins. "Now shoo, go and shower and clean yourself up and all that exciting shower-related shenanigans."

Chris bends to pick up his clothes, back aching in protest, and Darren whistles.

"Oh would you just _stop_," he growls, stalking into the bathroom and slamming the door on Darren's laughter. _Prick_.

He lets the sheet drop and folds it up automatically. He's completely aware it will need washing but he can't just let it float around the bathroom. He notices a few marks across his chest and on his hip and he wonders when the hell that happened. _Note to self: Change alone today, Colfer. _

When the shower is sufficiently steaming, he steps inside and _moans_. This is what he wanted yesterday. Although how it went wasn't so bad either. But the _heat_…whatever Darren did helped, sure, but he still aches this morning. _But is that from Zach working you so hard or..?_ He silences his mind and scowls. Stupid fucking thoughts about stupid fucking Darren fucking Chris. Wait. _CRISS_. Yes. That's what he meant. He groans, and slams his head gently into the wall of the shower. He's so screwed. And not in the good way either.

He's not sure how long he spends in the shower but when the water starts to chill and his skin is a bit wrinkly, he thinks it's probably time to step out. The damned marks have darkened so he makes sure they're thoroughly covered with clothing before leaving the bathroom. In his absence, Darren has left Chris' bed and gathered up his clothes from the floor. But the bed is unmade. Chris scowls and neatens it, even though he knows he'll be washing them later. Because otherwise the smell of Darren on his sheets…he'll _never _sleep.

He shuffles down the stairs and into the kitchen and…

"So, you're still here?" he asks, seeing Darren apparently quite at home as he eats a bowl of Trix.

"Needed to eat," Darren mumbles around his spoon.

"You could've gotten something _after _leaving," Chris mutters, sticking some bread in the toaster and heating the water for some blessed coffee.

"That means spending money."

"You _do _have a full-time job on one of the most popular shows in the country right now, don't you?" Chris looks over his shoulder.

Darren shrugs. "But I can't get Trix from Starbucks."

Chris snorts and shakes his head. "You're ridiculous."

"I know," Darren smiles widely.

When the toast pops, Chris spreads on peanut butter and holds out a coffee mug for Darren.

"You even need to ask?"

Chris shrugs and places the second mug beside his own. "It's polite."

Darren makes a noise around the food in his mouth and Chris looks at him as if to say, _Which is precisely what you aren't doing_ _right now_.

As he waits for the coffee to steep, he pulls out a bar stool and sits on it, wincing slightly and adjusting himself. He sees Darren's smirk behind his hand and fights very hard not to smack him. _Prick_. So Chris decides he's going to ignore him from then on, and Darren eventually accepts the silence and averted gazes and stops asking questions and trying to make awkward small talk. When Chris is done with his dishes and sees Darren is too, he picks them up and dumps them in the sink. He'll care about it later but right now he just wants to get in his car and drive to the studio and get out of Darren's presence and shoot a scene. With Darren. Well _fuck_.

He gathers up his Chewbacca backpack from the door and makes sure he has the script for today's scenes and picks up his keys from the table.

"Well I'm going and I'm not leaving you in my house alone, so you're going to have to go too," he says, slipping on his shoes and looking everywhere _but _at Darren, who is honestly confused and feeling a bit wounded and wondering what the _hell _happened to cause this complete change in demeanour.

"Can't we just _talk _about this?" he begs as he scrabbles for his own shoes and keys.

"Not until I've got everything in my head to stop buzzing angrily at me," Chris mutters, opening the door to the garage and unlocking his car. He just needs some space. Some distance. He needs to talk to someone. And he can't. Because he _knows_ that there are no secrets on the _Glee _set and it will get around _so _fast.

"Chris, _please_," Darren pleads, grabbing his wrist and spinning him around so his back is against the car. He can see the desperation and fear in Darren's eyes and his heart aches a little. "Don't shut me out. Don't do this."

"I just need some space, Darren," Chris whispers and Darren steps back, indicating he'll put distance between them. But not much. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"_Chris_," Darren says again as Chris opens the door to his car and he very nearly loses his fingers as he fights to keep the door open. "_Fuck _this. I _know _what you're doing. You think I haven't seen this before? You think I'm not as scared about this as you are? I'm fucking _terrified_ because I don't know what this _means _but I can't have you drive off and not talk to me on the set today and avoid me because this pain in my chest," he pauses and clenches his eyes shut, voice breaking, "it'll eat me alive and consume me whole and I can't _breathe _right now because I'm so scared."

Chris' fingers are on the steering wheel and he's squeezing so tightly he'll either break his fingers or the wheel. Probably his fingers. Steering wheels are meant to be pretty strong. He's not sure he can respond without crying so he stays quiet. Which only breaks Darren's heart more.

"_Please_," Darren whimpers.

"Not right now, Dare," Chris says quietly. "We have scenes together today. We'll talk an-"

"Kurt and Blaine will talk," Darren interrupts. "_We_ won't. This will fester unless we talk about it."

Chris puts his key in the ignition, opens the garage door behind him. Waits. Pauses. Breathes. _Aches_.

"Get off my car Darren and let me get to work," he says, grateful he's an actor because he can keep his voice steady even though his heart is tearing itself into ribbons and he thinks he might be sick.

"_No_," Darren is so close to tears and why won't Chris just fucking _look _at him.

Chris sighs deeply, bites the inside of his cheek, feels his heart pounding and wonders why it feels like it's in his belly. "We'll talk about it," he says finally. "Just not now."

"Do you promise?" Darren asks.

Chris puts the car in reverse. "Promise. Now close the door."

Heartbroken, Darren lets his fingers slide down the door of the car. Chris pulls it shut and backs out and Darren walks out after him, the garage door closing behind him and then Chris is gone, driving away, to work, the same place Darren needs to be but he thinks he might be sick as he falls to his knees and lets the tears slide down his face. He's not sure how long he kneels there as the sobs rack his body and he holds his arms over his chest to try and keep himself together because he's sure that otherwise he's going to just break into little shards all over Chris' driveway. And then he hears his cell go off and he's reaching into his pocket for it.

"Hey dude, you coming in today? I thought you had scenes," Mark says and Darren exhales shakily, trying to collect himself. "Dude? You okay?"

His automatic response is _yes_. His honest answer is _fuck no_. "I'll be in," he says, and he knows Mark hears the dry, catchy sound in his throat that everyone gets when they cry.

"You find me as soon as you get here, you got that?" Mark says firmly.

"Sure man," he assures, mostly just to appease Mark and get him off the cell.

"I'm serious, Criss," Mark mutters, disconnecting the call.

Darren wipes his eyes, clambers to his feet and slips into his car as a fresh wave of hurt takes over. What did he _do_?

The drive to the Paramount lot is mostly a blur, broken by traffic and spells of crying and turning on the radio as a distraction and then turning it off because he can't stand to hear music right now and then turning it back on because he _seriously _needs the distraction. He pulls in, parks, practically runs to his trailer and locks the door behind him as he throws himself into a chair and _breathes_ as well as he can.

"I thought I said to find me as soon as you got here," he hears from the trailer door and he chokes back a laugh at Mark's impatience. He unlatches the door and then sinks back into the chair. "Wow man. What happened to _you_?"

He shakes his head, knows he looks like a mess, knows _everyone _looks like a mess after crying. Mark slides a hand across his back as he slips into Darren's other chair, the chair _Chris _sits in when they're in his trailer rehearsing lines and a sob bubbles out of his throat before he can stop it. Mark's eyes widen and he's gaping and then has his strong arms around Darren and his smell is _so _not Chris that it helps a little to stop thinking about him and just have a hug that he so desperately needed. Mark doesn't say anything, doesn't really know what to say, but he's _there _and _real _and _present _in a way that Darren wants Chris to be but the younger boy is the one causing all the tears. When he's sufficiently calmed, he pulls back and hunts around for the tissues he knows he keeps in his trailer somewhere but Chris is always using them and they never go back in the same place twice.

"Dude," Mark says gently and Darren turns, wiping his cheeks, "did someone like, _die _or something?"

Darren almost smiles, wondering if it would hurt him less if someone had died. And then shakes himself because really, the situations are not comparable and he doesn't want to think about who would have to die to make him feel like this. "Just a crappy morning."

"Crappy morning?" Mark snorts. "Crappy mornings don't look like you, man. They look a bit frazzled and a coffee in hand, not bordering on hysterical."

Darren finds the tissues, next to the tea bags in his cupboard of all places, and uses them to clean off his face and blow his nose.

"Is this about Chris?" Mark says suddenly, and it catches Darren off-guard just long enough that his face betrays him before he tries to pretend like it's not. "Okay, so it is. I saw him arrive this morning looking pale and he basically dragged Ashley and Lea away even though Lea was screeching about Amber being free but Chris clearly didn't care."

Darren's glad Chris has someone to talk to. At least, he hopes Chris is talking to them. He guesses it's easier for Chris, because he's been very acknowledging of his sexuality and Darren came out as straight and then he slept with Chris. What a fucking mess.

"Dude?" Mark smacks him with his hand and Darren rubs his arm, scowling.

"It's not for me to discuss," he mumbles, gathering up the things he's going to need for the scenes today.

"Don't feed me that bullshit," Mark snaps at him and Darren pauses, his back to Mark. "It's as much for you to discuss as anyone else who might be involved in upsetting you."

"Fine then," Darren replies, looking over his shoulder as he shoves everything into the backpack he carries with him around the studio lot. "I currently don't want to talk about it because I'm so fucking confused and hurt."

"Ahh," Mark nods, his frustration gone. "In that case, I'll let it go until you want to talk about it."

And Darren's glad that Mark is so willing to just let it drop because he knows Lea and Amber would drive Chris absolutely _mental _with wanting to know if he started to clam up.

He steps out of his trailer as Mark trails behind him, chattering lightly about the scenes he's filming today and Darren half-listens and nods absently, hoping Mark doesn't notice he's not really caring.

* * *

><p><em>An hour or so earlier<em>

"Chris, what are you _doing_?" Lea shrieks as he pulls her backwards by her sleeve, making her stumble in her Rachel Berry shoes. "Can't you just let me go and walk forwards like a _normal_ person?"

"Since where were you normal?" he quips, finding Ashley talking with Mark and grabbing her hand, hauling the pair into his trailer while Lea gabbles something about getting Amber instead.

"What's wrong Colfer?" Ashley says as she sits on one of his chairs and Chris paces. She dips her head at the other chair and Lea sits as well.

"Fucking…" Chris pulls on his hair, frustrated. He _needs _to talk to them and yet he's utterly terrified and he doesn't want to expose Darren like this.

"Chris, _sit_," Lea demands, pointing at the bench chair in his trailer and he sighs, sitting and biting his lip to cover the wince.

"Oh ho!" Fuck. Ashley saw it. "What did _you _get up to last night?"

Lea's a little confused until she sees the flush that mars his cheeks. "_Oh!_" she claps her hands excitedly. "Did our baby get _laid_?"

Chris shoots her a withering glare but it's enough, she knows she's right and she and Ashley high-five, making Chris slump his head onto the table with a loud _thump_.

Ashley pets his hair gently. "What happened, boo? We should be out celebrating or something!"

"_Celebrating_," he snorts against the table. Ashley and Lea exchange glances.

"Boo?"

"Boo who?" he mumbles.

"Boo who you," Ashley prods his head with her finger and he looks up at it, eyes crossed because it's so close and then follows it up to her face.

He rolls his eyes and looks to Lea. "Ever slept with a co-star?"

Her mouth forms a little 'o' and she pauses. "Uh, yes. I suppose. Maybe. Why?"

"How awkward does it get afterwards?" he continues, trying to act nonchalant.

Her eyes widen. "Who was it?" she says, and he can see her turning over the cast in her mind, her brow furrowed.

"It was Darren, of course," Ashley says, her eyes not leaving Chris' face, and when his cheeks turn red and his head disappears back into his crossed arms, it's all the confirmation she needs. Lea's mouth is now a much larger 'O'.

"Fucking hate myself," Chris' words are muffled by his arms and Ashley slides onto the bench beside him, tucking her hand across his chest and cuddling him gently.

"It's nothing to hate yourself for, boo," she says. "He didn't…you know, _force _you, did he?"

Chris' head snaps up so fast you can hear the crack. Lea winces a little. "_Fuck_ no," he says and Ashley holds up her hand apologetically.

"When someone is this freaked out by it and then says they hate themselves, I do worry," she shrugs. "I couldn't see our favourite hobbit doing that but I had to just…check, you know?"

Chris sighs and kneads his temples. "I suppose."

"So um, excuse me, but like, _what _happened?" Lea cuts in.

So Chris explains, kind of, sort of, in not so many details, that Darren came over because he thought Chris needed looking after and then Chris finally, kind of, sort of admitted that he thought about Darren in a way that wasn't entirely friendship-py, and then Darren kind of, sort of, cut him off by kissing him and then Chris kind of, sort of, realised that he really wanted Darren and apparently Darren wanted him too and so it kind of, sort of, _happened_.

He's horribly humiliated as Lea and Ashley grin at him and high-five again.

"How good was it?" Lea asks and Chris' mouth falls open and she laughs. "Okay, so you have nothing to compare it to and maybe that's a bit too far but did you enjoy it at least?"

He groans, hiding his face in his hands. "Fuck you, Lea."

She giggles. "Look," she says, flicking a piece of hair to the side with her finger. "I remember when Jon came out to me and when he told me about him and Gavin and how terrified he was at first too. What you did…it doesn't _have _to mean anything, but you can't avoid each other."

"Can't I?" he mumbles desperately.

"You have scenes together, sunshine," Ashley reminds him and he groans again.

"You have to talk about it," Lea says honestly. "You have to figure out if it's a one-time thing and now you've got it out of your system, or if it means more. And if it means more, then…you know we'll support you. So will Amber and Dianna. They're going to be crowing. It doesn't change our opinion of you in the slightest," she lays a hand on Chris' shoulder and he peers up at her from his arms. "We'll love you no matter what, Chris. Same for Darren. But you can't avoid each other because your scenes will become awkward and fucked up and everyone will start to notice you aren't the easy-going friends anymore and figure things out."

He sighs. He knows she's right.

"Listen to the girl with experience screwing co-workers," Ashley chuckles and Lea gives her the finger. "In the meantime, I think we need to get you into Kurt clothes and make-up."

"And I need to go apologise for not being on set the last half hour," Lea mutters.

"Thanks," he says quietly and they each hug him.

"Unconditional love and support, right?" Ashley smiles and he smiles back.

* * *

><p>Lea's right. The scenes are awkward and fucked up. He can't even <em>look <em>at Darren properly and he's glad it's just a group scene in the choir room for now because he can pretend he's thoroughly enraptured in Schue's latest lesson debacle and Rachel's shrill discussion on what she would prefer to do.

"Chris, can you try to just be…" Ryan pauses when the scene cuts again, searching for the word. "I don't know, just less stilted looking?"

He blinks, nods. Sees Lea look at him pointedly. He returns the look with an eyebrow raised and she turns back to saying to Cory that he needs to move _here _not _there _because it would look more like Finn was supporting her and less like he was terrified of Rachel's insanity.

"Chris," Darren whispers under his breath.

"Not _now_," he grits back, turning his attention back as Ryan calls for the scene to be reset and then it's action and he tries to slip back into Kurt, rolling his eyes and nodding and participating as Kurt would in this scene.

"And CUT, much better Chris, thank you," Ryan says, and Chris squashes down a smile because he fucked up before so he's not really deserving of the praise.

They shoot a few more takes from different angles, mostly focusing on Lea, Matt and Cory so Chris sort of zones out as he feels Darren fidget next to him.

"Alright, wrap that up!" Ryan says and Heather and Naya cheer. "We'll do the hallway scene with Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Dave next. You have an hour off and we'll meet up again in an hour and a half. Chris, Darren, Lea, you'll have costume and hair changes so factor that into your time."

The three nod automatically and the set clears of actors. Chris is almost at his trailer when he feels the calloused hand slide around his wrist and anchor him to his place.

"You promised we'd talk," Darren whispers.

"I never said when," he replies, his eyes falling to the ground and refusing to turn.

"We can't do a scene where we have to interact if you won't even _look _at me Chris."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. I can be professional," Chris snipes.

"Because you're being _so _professional now," Darren responds.

The pressure on his wrist is getting kind of painful and out of the corner of his eye he sees Ashley and Lea paused outside Mark's trailer. The three are all staring at him and Darren.

"_Fine_," he hisses. "Just let my fucking arm go."

Darren drops it like he's been burned and Chris stalks the distance and is into his trailer as Darren follows him silently, shutting the door and turning the lock so they aren't interrupted.

"So talk," Chris says, slipping out of his uncomfortable Kurt shoes, jacket and bow tie.

"I was really rather hoping you would," Darren says, rubbing the back of his neck and sitting in the same chair Lea occupied this morning. Her words swirl around him and he leans his hands against the cold metal of the sink. "What did I do wrong this morning?" Darren asks.

"You just…" Chris stops. Darren didn't really _do _anything. Chris just got scared. The self-hatred and confusion he had bottled up since high school had started to unstopper and he knew he'd say horrible words so he shut down and said nothing instead. "It was me."

"This sounds like that dorky 'it's not you, it's me' break-up line," Darren says.

Chris rolls his eyes and stares down at his hands. "I got scared," he admits. "I don't know. It just overwhelmed me. I needed to get away before I said something I'd really regret and I'm sorry that you had to get hurt in the process."

Darren nods even though Chris can't see it. He'd guessed that much. "I'm not sure if I'd preferred you raging and hurting me, or silent and tearing me apart," he acknowledges.

Chris' heart clenches and he feels like someone just tipped a bucket of guilt over his head. "I'm sorry," he says again.

"It's okay," Darren says softly. "I'm scared too."

"Of?" Chris' back stiffens.

"Of losing our friendship," he says. "Of losing you."

"We work together."

"You know what I mean. You were in that scene this morning and completely disconnected that Blaine was next to you. Ryan told you to be less stilted. I kept having to move my eyes around so the redness wouldn't show up on camera," Darren says.

"You cried?" Chris questions, turning at last, his face filled with pain.

"I told you this morning, I couldn't _breathe _because it hurt so much," Darren says, and then Chris is wrapping his arms around him and his smell washes over Darren and even though his heart had been beating before, it's like it just kick-started back to life for real now.

"I'm so sorry," Chris mumbles against his neck repeatedly, and Darren's arms slide around Chris' waist to his back. It's not until he feels the shaking and the dampness on his neck he realises Chris is crying now too.

"_Hey_," he breathes, one hand going to the back of Chris' neck. "Don't cry. It's okay. I got emotional."

"It's _not _okay," Chris whimpers. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"But it happens," Darren says, stroking the back of Chris' neck gently. "It's part of human nature. That we can apologise and accept our faults and move on stronger, that's where we should be going. Not you spilling tears over my emotions hours ago."

Chris sniffles, wrestles free from Darren's grip and wipes his eyes on the back of his sleeve, returning to his place of the sink with his back turned to Darren as he composes himself. Darren bites his lip and makes a decision, standing and wrapping his arms around Chris from behind, his chin resting on Chris' shoulder. Chris would almost go as far to say the touch is intimate, but he doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

They stand there for a few minutes, Darren's hands across his stomach, breathing in sync. Darren can feel the faint flutter of Chris' heart against his palm and he nuzzles his nose against Chris' shirt, even though it's Kurt's, but he can smell Chris beneath the fabric and he inhales.

"What _are _you doing?" Chris finally says, voice light with amusement.

"Smelling you," Darren answers honestly, taking in another breath.

"What on earth for?"

"You smell good," Darren says, shrugging. Chris laughs and the hurt in his heart starts to fade.

"I smell like new clothes and the musky smell of the clothing trailer," Chris says.

"But just," Darren noses along to the back of Chris' neck and above the collar of the shirt he's wearing, "_here_, you smell the most like you." He smells again and Chris shivers at the sensation.

"So what now?" Chris says as Darren snuffles his neck. "Are we friends or…?"

"Co-stars with benefits?" Darren offers and Chris snorts. "We couldn't decide last night. Let's just be friends for now. That may or may not feel more and want more from each other."

"You feel and want more from me?" Chris says and Darren freezes. _Whoops_.

"Er, well…" he untangles himself from Chris, steps away nervously. "I don't know what I want. I was just giving you that option."

"You need to be in this too," Chris reminds him and it sort of sounds like what Mark said to him this morning about him having the right to talk as well. He glances away and Chris steps towards him tentatively, before he's against the small table in the trailer and Chris is directly in front of him. His eyes dart from Chris' eyes to his lips which are slightly parted and as he watches Chris' pink tongue darts out to wet them and he drops his gaze, trying to derail the train of want and need and desire that is chugging along quite merrily, thank you very much.

He sees Chris raise a delicate hand, his long fingers sliding along his face and brush over his ears. He can feel the shaking and places his own rough hand over it to hold it in place, his eyes returning to Chris'. Chris is just gazing at where his hand is, not moving, barely breathing until his thumb twitches near Darren's eye and he closes them, letting the peace course through his veins. Whatever happens, he'll know it'll be okay. Chris came to _him_, touched _him_, held _his _cheek.

Neither moves for the longest time, Chris' eyes wandering from where his hand is pressed to Darren's closed eyes and he marvels at how long and beautiful his eyelashes are, and how utterly ridiculous and yet perfectly adorable _Darren _his triangular eyebrows are and the slight crease at the tip of his nose and the way his lips are closed and his face is slack and he's just so _calm_ now after all the hurt on his face this morning. Chris can faintly see that his eyes are still a bit swollen from the crying of earlier and his heart twinges again. He moves the pad of his thumb lightly over Darren's eye and his lips part just the faintest bit, and then Chris decides he just doesn't care anymore and bends closer, covering Darren's lips with his own.

There's a moment of brief silence, of nothing, and then Darren's free hand is on Chris' hip, tugging him gently closer as Chris kisses him sweetly, brushing his tongue into Darren's mouth and feeling Darren's mouth open wider automatically to accommodate it. And he tangles his other hand at the back of Darren's neck which isn't as gelled down and plays softly with the curls there and Darren's whimper is swallowed by Chris' mouth as Darren sits back on the table that's digging uncomfortably into his lap and pulls Chris to stand between his legs with the hand on his hip.

When they break away, Chris' face is flushed and his eyes are shiny and his lips are dark red and Darren's heart thuds. He leans his forehead against Chris', keeping him close, sharing their breaths and rubbing circles into Chris' hip with his thumb.

"So we'll be okay then?" he says.

Chris presses his lips to Darren's forehead. "I don't know what any of this means, but we'll be fine."

Darren's smile is shy, honest, breath-taking and Chris feels his heart flutter as he pulls the older but shorter boy into a hug.

He's not aware of it, but outside his trailer door, Ashley and Lea share their third high-five of the day before rushing away…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So I know I'm not getting like, _heaps _of reviews, even though I'm getting hits and favourites and that's okay because I know these are relatively short, but can I just say that to those who review asking for second chapters or sequels...you're very lucky people =P So now this is a two-shot instead of a one-shot. If it becomes a three-shot, I'm beating my head into a wall because I have other things to work on. And honestly. This ends so fucking fluffy I can't even think of where to take it to drag it out. And don't say another chapter of smut. I did that already. Perhaps other cast reactions. I don't even know!

So. Hurrah. I hope you enjoyed. Check out other fics, follow me on Tumblr (the link is on my profile), author alert me for when other second-chapters-that-I-never-intended-to-write-but-probably-will-now show up, or I start uploading two of my longer fics (one is 19k, the other is 19k and no where near done. This is why I never intended on sequel chapters!) and...yes. Okay. I'm done. THANK YOU for reading! =)


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